Voting machine interlock for nega



May 11, 1937. A. F. FOEHRENBACH ET AL 2,079,686

VOTING MACHINE INTERLOCK FOR NEGATIVE AND AFFIRMATIVE BALLOTS Filed Dec. 20, 1934 Zhwentors ARTHUR fifoffi/efA/mcfl AA A/SOM f Jwup Patented May 11, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VOTING MACHINE INTERLOCK FOR NEGA- TIVE AND AFFIRMATIVE BALLOTS Application December 20, 1934, Serial No. 758,365

2 Claims.

This invention relates broadly to voting machines and more specifically to an improved interlock for the mechanism that registers the votes cast on yes" and no" questions in the ballot, for example, a proposed tax levy, statutory amendment, bond issue, etc.

The improvement embodying the present invention is illustrated as coordinated with a machine of the character disclosed in an application by Samuel R. Shoup et a1., filed July 25, 1929, Serial No. 380,839, which has matured into Patent 2,054,102 dated Sept. 15, 1936, although the device is adapted for use upon machines of other types.

One of the objects of this invention is to construct an interlock which comprises a unitary plate or single stamping adapted to lock one of a pair of voting shafts from actuation and formed for assembly interchangeably upon either of said shafts when suitably disposed thereon.

Another object of the invention is to construct a voting lever interlock which is adapted for assembly upon a candidate voting lever unit of the type employed in the voting machine without structural modification of the parts comprising such unit.

A further object of the invention is to con struct a locking member which is functionally dependable, sturdy of construction and economic of manufacture.

Other objects more or less ancillary of the foregoing and the manner in which all the various objects are realized will appear in the following description which, considered inconnection with the accompanying drawing, sets forth the preferred embodiment of the invention.

Referring to the drawing wherein a preferred embodiment of the interlocking device is illustrated-- Figure 1 is an elevational view of a plurality of yes and no" voting shafts having the improved interlock mounted thereon.

Figure 2 is an elevational view similar to that I shown in Figure l but with certain of the shafts shown in their actuated position.

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the voting lever shafts, its appurtenances and the interlock plate shown in Figure 2.

Figures 4 and 5 are views in perspective of a portion of the voting shaft assembly and illustrating the disposition of the locking plate upon the yes and no" voting lever shafts.

Figure 6 is a sectional view of the voting shaft interlock, the section being taken on a plane indicated by the line 6-6 in Figure 3.

As illustrated in Figure 1, the voting lever shafts I0 are arranged within the voting machine in vertically disposed columns, the upper pair A of the "yes and no shafts being adapted to register votes upon one issue while the pair B and successive assemblies are provided for voting upon the other issues in the ballot. The yes and no shafts in are provided with voting keys or levers C which are coordinated with indicia upon the face of the machine to indicate the issue and show the identification of the keys. The voting shaft assembly for the yes and no voting levers is similar to the unit employed in the candidate voting mechanism, each of the assemblies comprising a sleeve ii non-rotatably mounted upon the voting lever shaft and a pair of arms i2 affixed respectively upon the outer ends of said sleeve. These arms are coordinated with the counting and reset mechanisms within the machine and constitute the actuating construction therefor, as disclosed in the aforesaid application. I

The arms I2 and i3 are formed with apertures ll within which the end portions of a pin I5 are riveted. Intermediate the arms l2 and i3 there is a plate I! mounted upon the sleeve II and non-rotatably secured thereon by a square aperture I8 which snugly engages the body of the sleeve. The diagonal corners of the plate ii are provided with notches l9 and which are suitably formed for engagement with an annular groove 2| in the central portion of the pin l5. As will be seen in Figure 4 the plate l'l may be assembled with the notch 20 engaging the groove 2| and as shown in Figure 5 the plate may be disposed upon the sleeve with the slot IS in the groove 2|. Thus the plate I! may be interchangeably assembled so that the cam surface 22 thereof, as illustrated in the upper group A of the voting mechanism shown in Figure 6, will engage the cam surface 23 in the plate i1 upon actuation of one of the voting keys and the surface 24, as illustrated in the lower group B of the voting mechanism shown in Figure 6, will engage the cam face 25 upon actuation of the subjacent voting lever.

In operation, assuming the uppermost voting lever shaft in Figure 6 to be the yes key in the voting machine and the contiguous shaft therebelow to be the no key, it will be seen that upon actuation of the voting adjustment of the no key the cam surfaces 23 in the plate I! will enthe upper voting lever to be the "yes" key and the subjacent shaft the no" key, it will be seen that upon adjustment of the yes key the cam surface 25 of the plate I! will engage the cam surface 24 of the cam coordinated with the no key, thereby preventing adjustment of the no key.

Although the foregoing description is necessarily of a detailed character, in order that the invention may be completely set forth, it is to be understood that the specific terminology is not intended to be restrictive or confining, and that various rearrangements of parts and modifications of structural detail may be resorted to without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention as herein claimed.

We claim:

1. A voting machine embodying an affirmative and negative voting unit, an interlock therefor for restraining the rotative movement of one of the voting lever shafts of said afiirmative and negative voting units after operation of the other, said interlock comprising a pair of parallel shafts, a pair of arms mounted in spaced relation upon each of said shafts, pins mounted on said arms and disposed parallel said shafts, shoulders in said shafts intermediate their ends, plates mounted on said shafts, recesses in said plates engaged with said shoulders in said pins, peripheral cam faces in said plates, said shoulders being disposed in a common plane whereby said plates are retained in aligned position on said shafts and perpendicular thereto with the peripheral cam face of one of said plates disposed for engagement with the peripheral edge of the other of said plates upon operative adjustment of either of said shafts.

2. A voting machine embodying an affirmative and negative voting unit, an interlock therefor for restraining the rotative movement of one of the voting lever shafts of said affirmative and negative voting units after operation of the other, said interlock comprising a pair of parallel shafts, a pair of arms mounted in spaced relation upon each of said shafts, pins intermediate said arms and parallel said shafts, grooves formed in the central portion of said pins, plates mounted on said shafts, notches in the peripheral edges of said plates engaged in said grooves, cam faces on the periphery of said plates, said grooves being disposed in a common plane for retaining said plates and the cam faces thereof in horizontal alignment during the operative actuation of said shafts.

ARTHUR F. FOEHRENBACH. RANSOM F. SHOU'P. 

